US7902049B2 - Method for depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials - Google Patents

Method for depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials Download PDF

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US7902049B2
US7902049B2 US10/765,435 US76543504A US7902049B2 US 7902049 B2 US7902049 B2 US 7902049B2 US 76543504 A US76543504 A US 76543504A US 7902049 B2 US7902049 B2 US 7902049B2
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diluent
process gas
microcrystalline
layer
semiconductor material
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US20050164474A1 (en
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Subhendu Guha
Chi C. Yang
Baojie Yan
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United Solar Systems Corp
United Solar Ovonic LLC
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United Solar Ovonic LLC
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Priority to US10/765,435 priority Critical patent/US7902049B2/en
Priority to EP05722508A priority patent/EP1743360A4/de
Priority to PCT/US2005/002165 priority patent/WO2005072302A2/en
Priority to CNB2005800071218A priority patent/CN100470726C/zh
Publication of US20050164474A1 publication Critical patent/US20050164474A1/en
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    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23CCOATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/44Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
    • C23C16/455Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
    • C23C16/45523Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23CCOATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C16/00Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
    • C23C16/22Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
    • C23C16/24Deposition of silicon only
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10FINORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
    • H10F71/00Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass
    • H10F71/10Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass the devices comprising amorphous semiconductor material
    • H10F71/103Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass the devices comprising amorphous semiconductor material including only Group IV materials
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10FINORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
    • H10F71/00Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass
    • H10F71/121The active layers comprising only Group IV materials
    • H10F71/1215The active layers comprising only Group IV materials comprising at least two Group IV elements, e.g. SiGe
    • H10F71/1218The active layers comprising only Group IV materials comprising at least two Group IV elements, e.g. SiGe in microcrystalline form
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10FINORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
    • H10F71/00Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass
    • H10F71/121The active layers comprising only Group IV materials
    • H10F71/1224The active layers comprising only Group IV materials comprising microcrystalline silicon
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10PGENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P14/00Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars
    • H10P14/20Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars of semiconductor materials
    • H10P14/24Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars of semiconductor materials using chemical vapour deposition [CVD]
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10PGENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P14/00Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars
    • H10P14/20Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars of semiconductor materials
    • H10P14/34Deposited materials, e.g. layers
    • H10P14/3402Deposited materials, e.g. layers characterised by the chemical composition
    • H10P14/3404Deposited materials, e.g. layers characterised by the chemical composition being Group IVA materials
    • H10P14/3411Silicon, silicon germanium or germanium
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02EREDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/545Microcrystalline silicon PV cells
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02PCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to semiconductor materials. More specifically, the invention relates to thin-film semiconductor materials. Most specifically, the invention relates to high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials, devices made from those materials, and methods for their manufacture.
  • thin-film semiconductor materials comprise materials which are deposited by building up thin layers on a substrate, typically through a vapor deposition process.
  • Such processes include plasma deposition processes (also referred to as plasma chemical vapor deposition processes), wherein a process gas typically comprised of a semiconductor precursor and a diluent gas is subjected to an electrical field which ionizes the gas so as to create a reactive plasma which decomposes at least some of the components of the process gas and deposits a layer of semiconductor material onto a substrate maintained in, or in close proximity to, the plasma.
  • Non-plasma deposition processes such as non-plasma chemical vapor deposition and evaporation processes may be similarly employed for the preparation of thin-film semiconductor materials.
  • Thin-film semiconductor materials are generally considered to be disordered semiconductor materials insofar as they are lacking in long-range order and are not single crystalline or polycrystalline materials.
  • Thin-film semiconductor materials may be amorphous materials which manifest only local or intermediate range ordering (although they may include, at times, regions of higher ordering).
  • Thin-film materials also include microcrystalline materials, which are distinguishable from long range ordered materials such as single crystalline materials and polycrystalline materials as well as from other thin-film materials such as amorphous materials.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,801 discloses a highly conductive, highly transparent P doped, microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material having a particular utility in N-I-P type photovoltaic devices, and the disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference. As specifically disclosed therein, microcrystalline materials are distinguishable from amorphous materials insofar as they exhibit a threshold volume fraction of crystalline inclusions at which substantial changes in key parameters, including electrical conductivity, band gap and absorption constant occur.
  • microcrystalline materials exhibiting a threshold volume fraction of crystalline inclusions at which substantial changes in key parameters occur can best be understood with reference to the percolation model of disordered materials.
  • Percolation theory as applied to microcrystalline materials, analogizes properties such as the electrical conductivity manifested by microcrystalline materials, to the percolation of a fluid through a non-homogeneous, semi-permeable medium such as a gravel bed.
  • Microcrystalline materials are formed of a random network which includes low conductivity, highly disordered regions of materials surrounding randomized, highly ordered crystalline inclusions having high electrical conductivity.
  • the onset of this critical threshold value for the substantial change in physical properties of microcrystalline materials will depend upon the size, shape and orientation of the particular crystalline inclusions, but is relatively constant for different types of materials.
  • the shape of the crystalline inclusions is critical to the volume fraction necessary to reach the threshold value.
  • amorphous materials may incorporate crystalline inclusions without being microcrystalline as the term is defined herein.
  • microcrystalline materials may include amorphous regions, consistent with the definition herein.
  • Microcrystalline semiconductor materials generally have higher electrical conductivities and better stabilities then do corresponding amorphous semiconductor materials. As a consequence, microcrystalline semiconductor materials are finding increasing utility in particular semiconductor applications.
  • microcrystalline semiconductor layers are used either alone, or in combination with amorphous semiconductor layers to fabricate a variety of photovoltaic device configurations.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,801 referred to above discloses P-I-N type photovoltaic devices in which the P layer thereof is fabricated from a microcrystalline alloy of silicon hydrogen and fluorine.
  • microcrystalline silicon and its alloys can exist in various morphologies.
  • the material may comprise spherical crystallites in a substantially amorphous matrix; it may comprise more elongated crystals in a matrix; or, it may comprise a columnar structure comprised of relatively long crystals oriented approximately normal to a substrate.
  • the definition of microcrystalline material given above acknowledges and encompasses all of such morphologies.
  • Plasma deposition processes of the type described above can be implemented under conditions which favor the deposition of amorphous or microcrystalline materials and such deposition conditions are disclosed, for example, in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,801 which is incorporated herein by reference. It is to be understood that plasma deposition processes may be carried out using a very wide range of electromagnetic energy, including frequencies ranging from audio frequency to radio frequency to very high frequency and up through microwave frequencies; and the present invention can be utilized with all of such frequencies.
  • the prior art has recognized that the optimum microcrystalline silicon alloy layers for photovoltaic devices are deposited under deposition conditions which are close to the amorphous/microcrystalline threshold.
  • Shah has likewise recognized that microcrystalline silicon having a columnar or other large grain structure is generally undesirable for the fabrication of photovoltaic devices and has stated that, in a plasma deposition process, the use of process gases which have high levels of hydrogen dilution will cause the growth of large grains.
  • the prior art also recognized that a plasma deposited amorphous semiconductor material will tend to become more ordered as its thickness increases. This teaching is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,461, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • Table 1 summarizes data from a series of experiments in which six N-I-P type photovoltaic devices were prepared by a plasma activated glow discharge deposition process carried out utilizing very high frequency energy of 70 MHz.
  • Each cell comprised a body of intrinsic microcrystalline silicon-hydrogen alloy material interposed between relatively thin P and N doped layers of microcrystalline silicon-hydrogen alloy material.
  • the thickness of the intrinsic layer varied from 335 nm in sample 1 to 1980 nm in sample 6.
  • Performance parameters for each of the cells were measured under AM-1.5 illumination. These parameters include the figure of merit Q measured in terms of in A/cm 2 , open circuit voltage (V oc ), fill factor (FF) and maximum power (P max ) measured in terms of mW/cm 2 .
  • Fill factor is a good measure of material quality of a semiconductor material used in a photovoltaic device; and as will be seen (disregarding the relatively thin cell of sample 1), fill factor decreases as the thickness of the intrinsic layer increases.
  • open circuit voltage of the cell also drops as the intrinsic layer becomes thicker, and this suggests that the grain size of the material forming the intrinsic layer is increasing as the layer thickness increases. While not wishing to be bound by speculation, the inventors hereof have postulated that the degree of ordering of the microcrystalline semiconductor material is increasing as the thickness of the deposit increases. This leads to the formation of undesirable large-size grains of semiconductor material.
  • microcrystalline group IV semiconductor materials have an indirect band gap
  • their optical absorption coefficients are much lower than those of corresponding amorphous semiconductor materials.
  • microcrystalline semiconductor layers incorporated in photovoltaic cells, electrophotographic receptors and other photoresponsive devices must be made much thicker than corresponding amorphous layers used in analogous devices. For this reason, the fact that the material quality of such microcrystalline semiconductor layers decreases with increasing thickness is a very serious limitation on the use of such layers, and there is a significant need for preventing this decrease in material quality.
  • the present invention recognizes that by profiling the dilution of a process gas employed for the plasma deposition of a semiconductor material, the morphology of a microcrystalline layer may be advantageously controlled.
  • a process for the plasma deposition of a layer of microcrystalline semiconductor material In the process, a process gas which includes a precursor of the semiconductor material and a diluent is energized with electromagnetic energy so as to create a plasma therefrom. The plasma deposits a layer of the microcrystalline semiconductor material onto a substrate.
  • the concentration of the diluent in the process gas is varied as a function of the thickness of the layer of microcrystalline semiconductor material which has been deposited.
  • the concentration of the diluent gas is decreased as the thickness of the layer increases.
  • the concentration is varied in a continuous manner, either linearly or exponentially, while in other embodiments the concentration may be varied in a stepwise manner.
  • the diluent is one or more of hydrogen, deuterium, or a halogen.
  • the microcrystalline semiconductor material includes a group IV element, as for example silicon or germanium.
  • Also disclosed herein is a method for manufacturing an N-I-P type photovoltaic device having an intrinsic layer prepared according to the method of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a graphic illustration of the stepwise profiling of the concentration of a diluent in a process gas used for the preparation of a series of photovoltaic devices.
  • the degree of order of thin-film semiconductor materials varies as a function of the thickness of the layer. That is to say that in the deposition of microcrystalline semiconductor materials the degree of ordering of the material will increase as the deposition proceeds, so that the material will tend to be more crystalline.
  • an initially deposited portion of a layer of microcrystalline material will be comprised of very small randomly oriented crystallites, while later deposited portions of that layer will have a columnar morphology.
  • columnar material is generally unsuitable for use in photovoltaic devices since grain boundaries between the columns create shunting and short circuit paths and allow for the introduction of oxygen and other contaminants which can degrade the semiconductor material. Therefore, the present invention recognizes that in prior art deposition processes, the material quality of the plasma deposited semiconductor alloy material intended for use in a photovoltaic device will decline as the deposition process proceeds.
  • the material quality of plasma deposited microcrystalline semiconductor materials may be controlled by controlling the composition of the process gas used for the preparation of such materials. More specifically, it has been found that the tendency of a plasma deposited microcrystalline material to become more ordered, and hence have a larger grain size, may be suppressed if the composition of the process gas used for the preparation of the semiconductor material is controlled as a function of the increasing thickness of the layer.
  • a semiconductor material is prepared from a process gas which includes a precursor of the semiconductor material therein.
  • the process gas may include one or more of SiH 4 , Si 2 H 6 , SiF 4 or the like.
  • the process gas may include GeH 4 and the like.
  • Mixed silicon-germanium alloy materials may be prepared from mixtures of these gases.
  • electromagnetic energy in the form of radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, or DC energy ionizes the process gas so as to form a plasma which deposits a semiconductor alloy material onto a substrate, which is typically heated, and which is maintained in proximity to the plasma.
  • a diluent gas in the process gas mixture.
  • Hydrogen is a very typical diluent gas used in preparation of group IV semiconductor alloy materials.
  • Deuterium and halogens, particularly fluorine, are also used as diluent gases in deposition processes of this type.
  • the quality of a plasma deposited microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material can be controlled by profiling the concentration of a diluent gas in a process gas used for the plasma deposition of that material, as a function of the thickness of the depositing layer. Specifically, it has been found that the growth of undesirable large size grains in a body of depositing microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material can be suppressed by decreasing the concentration of the diluent gas as a function of increasing layer thickness.
  • the concentration of the diluent gas can be varied by either changing the amount of diluent gas fed into a process gas stream or by changing the amount of semiconductor precursor material in the process gas stream.
  • the profiling of the diluent composition may be carried out in a stepwise manner wherein the concentration is varied through several discrete levels as the layer thickness increases.
  • the diluent gas composition may be varied on a continuous basis either linearly or in an exponential manner.
  • the concentration of the diluent gas will be decreased as the layer thickness increases, since this will tend to retard to the growth of large size crystallites in the microcrystalline material.
  • the present invention may be adapted for this purpose by implementing it in a mode wherein the concentration of the diluent gas is increased as the layer thickness increases.
  • the amount of hydrogen diluent gas in the process gas stream was maintained at a constant flow rate while the amount of SiH 4 was increased in a series of steps so as to effectively produce a decreasing profile of diluent gas concentration as a function of increasing intrinsic layer thickness.
  • FIG. 1 there is shown a graphic depiction of the profiling of the process gas composition during the course of a five-hour deposition of the intrinsic layer for the five different samples of the experimental series.
  • sample C was a control sample, and the concentration of the process gas was maintained constant throughout the entire deposition.
  • concentration of the process gas was varied slightly throughout the deposition process.
  • FIG. 1 arbitrary units relating to flow, and hence concentration of the SiH 4 , are depicted.
  • the process gas composition was varied to an increasingly greater degree. In all instances, the average process gas composition was the same.
  • Table 2 Shown in Table 2 is the figure of merit Q, in terms of mA/cm 2 for each cell, as measured under AM 1.5 illumination and at long wavelength illumination of greater than 610 nm. Also set forth is the open circuit voltage (V oc ) for each cell as well as the fill factor (FF) as measured under AM 1.5 illumination, blue illumination and red illumination. Also set forth is the maximum power (P max ) for each of the cells in terms of mW/cm 2 . As will be seen from the foregoing, profiling the hydrogen dilution significantly alters the performance characteristics of the cell. In general, it has been found that profiling the hydrogen dilution at a rate of two units per step made the overall best photovoltaic device.
  • a second experimental series was carried out illustrating the effects of continuously profiling the concentration of a hydrogen diluent gas during the deposition of the intrinsic layer of a microcrystalline photovoltaic device.
  • a first and a second photovoltaic device of an N-I-P configuration comprising an approximately two micron thick body of intrinsic, microcrystalline silicon-hydrogen semiconductor alloy material interposed between relatively thin P doped and N doped layers of microcrystalline silicon-hydrogen alloy material were prepared using a radio frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma deposition process.
  • the process gas comprised disilane (Si 2 H 6 ) and a hydrogen diluent. Deposition pressure was maintained at 1.8 torr and the substrate temperature was 275° C.
  • a second cell was prepared under generally similar pressure and temperature conditions, except that the concentration of hydrogen diluent in the process gas was continuously varied during the deposition process.
  • the flow rate of the Si 2 H 6 was maintained at a constant level of 0.4 sccm while the flow rate of the hydrogen was varied throughout the deposition from an initial high rate of 140 sccm to a final rate of 70 sccm so that the hydrogen concentration in the process gas decreased as a function of increasing thickness of the intrinsic layer.
  • the performance characteristics of the profiled cell are superior to those of the baseline, constant concentration cell.
  • the overall material quality of the material deposited in accord with the present invention is superior to that of the prior art constant concentration process. This is reflected in increased open circuit voltage, increased short circuit current density and better overall efficiency for the profiled cell.
  • the degree of ordering of a microcrystalline semiconductor alloy will vary as the ratio of the components of the process gas varies.
  • the process gas will typically comprise a mixture of a silicon-containing gas such as SiH 4 , SiF 4 , Si 2 H 6 and the like, along with a germanium-containing gas such as GeH 4 .
  • the degree of ordering will vary as the ratio of silicon to germanium varies in the process gas.
  • the process gas composition will be changed during the course of the deposition, and the degree of ordering will vary both as a function of layer thickness and composition, and the diluent profile should be controlled accordingly.

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  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
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US10/765,435 US7902049B2 (en) 2004-01-27 2004-01-27 Method for depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials
EP05722508A EP1743360A4 (de) 2004-01-27 2005-01-24 Verfahren zum ablagern qualitativ hochwertiger mikrokristalliner halbleitermaterialien
PCT/US2005/002165 WO2005072302A2 (en) 2004-01-27 2005-01-24 Method for depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials
CNB2005800071218A CN100470726C (zh) 2004-01-27 2005-01-24 淀积高质量微晶半导体材料的方法

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TW201120942A (en) * 2009-12-08 2011-06-16 Ind Tech Res Inst Method for depositing microcrystalline silicon and monitor device of a plasma enhanced deposition
WO2012027857A2 (en) 2010-09-02 2012-03-08 Oerlikon Solar Ag, Trübbach Method for manufacturing a tandem solar cell with microcrystalline absorber layer
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WO2005072302A3 (en) 2006-11-23
US20050164474A1 (en) 2005-07-28
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CN100470726C (zh) 2009-03-18
EP1743360A4 (de) 2013-01-23
CN1934678A (zh) 2007-03-21

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